Daily Bread - DEC/03/07

1 Corinthians 9:25 - Now everyone engaged in a contest is temperate in all things, they do it for a corruptible crown but we do it to receive an incorruptible one.

The message of temperance is one of the three primary messages that Paul highlighted in his address to Felix (Acts 24:25). We should therefore place the subject of temperance along side of righteousness and judgment. Temperance is one of the fruits of the Spirit that many of us know very little about. It has basically been categorized as self-control and we leave it there without too much more consideration. However, there is more to temperance than just self-control for it is the ability to rule over every desire and thing that presents itself to an individual. In order to grasp the meaning of this very important word we must appreciate the fact that the stem 'krai' denotes power or lordship. The basic meaning of this Greek word is then grasped by its adjective 'enkrates' which is defined as one who has a status of power or rule. For the ancient Greeks this word referred to the truly free and independent man who was not dominated by anything. Socrates recognized this as a cardinal virtue. To Plato it meant superiority to every desire. In the Hermatic writings it was the ability that rises up in the decade of powers. Paul revealed it to be one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23). Peter listed it as one of the necessary attributes of consecration to God (2 Peter 1:6). By definition then temperance (enkrateia) is the absolute power that one exercises over oneself or anything else.

Paul uses the word to describe the unwavering commitment of an athlete to his training. In order to walk in this divine ability or power that is supplied to us by the Holy Spirit we must yield to God as we would in any other way. If the nature of God is going to be manifested in our lives then we must be reminded at all times that without Him we can do nothing (2 Peter 1:4; John 15:5). As an athlete devotes himself to his training we must yield ourselves to the training and instruction of the Holy Spirit. We have a far greater reward awaiting us both now and throughout eternity: a crown of life, a crown of righteousness and a crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12,; Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 4:8). As the expert swordsmen learns through commitment and strict training to wield the sword we must be willing to give our members over to God so that they become the weapons of righteousness that He has ordained (Romans 6:13; 2 Corinthians 6:7).

Be blessed,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org